Researchers engineered nonpathogenic Escherichia coli with a blood‑inducible circuit that secretes a barnacle-derived adhesive (CP43K) and the mucosal‑healing factor TFF3, enabling bacteria to sense gastrointestinal bleeding and adhere to inflamed tissue. Published in Nature Biotechnology, the work showed sustained tissue attachment (up to 10 days rectally) and improved weight recovery, reduced bleeding and restored barrier function in two mouse IBD models. The team demonstrated that adhesion depended on bleeding‑triggered expression and that a single administration produced multi‑day therapeutic activity, addressing a major delivery challenge for gut biologics. Methods and source data were provided with the paper; authors highlight translational potential but note the need for safety and microbiome impact studies before clinical translation. For clinicians and developers, the paper signals a new delivery strategy that combines autonomous sensing with localized biologic secretion—an alternative to repeated systemic dosing. The approach leverages established adhesive biology (barnacle proteins) paired with gut‑repair factors, offering an engineered‑biology route to chronic mucosal disease management.